34 Bulletin of Wisconsln Natural History Society. Vol. 1, No. 1. 
south as the north hue of the Town of Oak Creek, and possibly 
farther. West of the river its occurrence is scattered. In one 
timber lot there may be many, and another half a mile away may 
show not one. This is not likely to be due to the action of man,, 
as there is no incentive to cull beeches from among other trees. 
One of the finest stands of beech is on Section 19, in the Town of 
Milwaukee. Here are the largest trees 1 have seen in this neigh- 
borhood, one of them having a diameter of 20 inches breast high^ 
something very unusual for this locality. There are many young 
saplings and seedlings, and there would 1)e more if it were not for 
the cattle that wander at will in these woods. The old trees are 
all badly rotten and attacked by fungi. A few have the lower 
parts so thoroughly decayed that one may look through the hollow, 
and the trees appear to l)e standing on stilts. Yet they still put 
forth leaves and new shoots. ( )ther places on the west side where 
beeches are found are Perrigo Park, where there are a few young 
trees ; and the same grove on State Street in the Town of Wau- 
watosa, where the yellow 1)irches have 1)een ol)served. On the 
South Side, away from the lake shore, there is a single old l^eech 
tree by the roadway on Section 35, Town of Greenfield, just above 
the western l)ank of the little lake. It stands in a thicket of aspen 
saplings and is dying fast. 
Many years ag'o the peculiar distrilnition of the beech in Wis- 
consin was referred by the late I. A. Lapham to the influence 
of Lake Alichigan on the moisture conditions. This hypothesis 
may be correct, but its detailed proof is still wanting. A first step 
in that direction must be an exact knowledge of the facts, and the 
above observations may be a beginning to that end. 
TTTE POPLARS. 
The two aspens, P. trciiiiiloidcs and P. granclidciitata, occur 
scatteringly all over the region. At least I have not been al^le to 
detect any special characteristics of their distril)ution. One finds 
them of all ages, from seedlings and saplings to mature trees, sixty 
feet high and twelve inches in diameter, which is a1)out the largest 
size attained by these species in Wisconsin. Thev are nowhere 
particularly numerous. 
Populiis dcltoidcs, the cottonwood, offers many interesting 
points. Old and large specimens of this tree are 'rare, except 
where planted l)y the hand of man. It is possi1)le that this species 
did not occur in the region before settlement ; hni in the Menomo- 
nee Valley fe. g., below the electric line viaduct), there are several 
groups of them which may be spontaneous growth. At anv rate 
one would look for them in localities such as this, if anywhere. 
